Breaking the Dance

March 1, 2019
At least one of two married college professors finds that spying can be addictive.Finn Larsson never knew that his wife, Hollis, had once attended the CIA academy until they were caught up in a hair-raising adventure in Ireland while doing what was supposed to be a simple favor for the CIA (Beyond the Pale, 2018). Now they're dragged from the Michigan college where they teach into another dangerous case of espionage. Someone drops off an envelope with two passports with their pictures but the names of Tim and Janet McCabe along with a mysterious note in Spanish signed Tomas Silva. It sounds like the work of Declan Murphy, the charming art thief and forger they met in Ireland. Finn doesn't want to get involved again, but Hollis is intrigued. Awakened in the middle of the night, they find South African agent Peter Moodley making tea in their kitchen and a dead man in the living room. Before they can learn more, they're kidnapped and flown to Buenos Aires, where they're deposited in a luxury hotel and given luggage filled with expensive clothing. In a rare moment of caution, they exchange the suite they were assigned for another room and await future developments. They have no clue what they're supposed to do or whether the real McCabes are still alive, but they're both adept at coming up with stories to fit the situation. Luckily, Peter and Declan are both in town and each willing in his own way to help the duo find an address book and deliver it to Silva's boss, whom they have yet to meet, for a member of the mysterious TCT organization. Cunning and luck sustain them as they attempt to help the CIA trace TCT members while appeasing the people who apparently hired them as contract killers.Another mind-boggling adventure filled with action, humor, and romance as the clever couple hone their budding skills and become a more valued asset to the CIA. Stay tuned.

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May 1, 2019

After their adventures in Ireland (Beyond the Pale), college professors Finn and Hollis Larsson are a little bored. Then, Hollis's grad assistant hands her a plain envelope with passports in it. The pictures are theirs, but the names are Tim and Janet McCabe, and there's a note in Spanish warning them a friend is in trouble. They wake in the middle of the night to find a spy making tea for them and a dead man in their living room. Can it get worse? Yes, they're kidnapped, flown in a private jet to Argentina, and greeted as if they were there to handle a secret assignment. Only in their strange world is a hotel room filled with "a couple of Dutch honeymooners, an Irish art thief, a South African spy, and two American college professors" who are all trying to help a young couple in love. This mystery goes off the tracks early, and readers will be as confused as Finn and Hollis, trying to determine what is the actual assignment. VERDICT While the first in the series was fast paced and charming, this second entry drags. The two amateur spies are lovable, but only readers determined to keep up with Finn and Hollis will finish this long-winded book.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

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